Henry g



- (No Model.) 2.SheetsSheet 1.

H. G. SAWYER 81; E. A. HENDRICKS.

DIE FOR CUTTING OUT PLOWSHARE BLANKS- No. 578,119. Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

Rm? Z67 5. 742Zzzewe=s f 2v Sheets-Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

' H( G. SAWYERKE E. A. HENDRICKS,

DIE FOR OUTTING OUT PLOWSHARE BLANKS.

Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO THE STAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

DIE FOR CUTTING OUT PLOWSHARE-BLANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,119, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed August 21, 1896. Serial No. 603,460. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY G. SAWYER and EDWARD A. HENDRICKS, citizens of the United States, residing at Carpentersville, in

the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dies for Cutting Out Plowshare-v Blanks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to IO the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

It is our purpose to simplify the manufacture of plowshare-blanks by providing a die of peculiar form which will operate upon a I 5 bar of metal in conjunction with a knife to produce two blanks at each operation of the machine, said die being formed so that the edges of severance made thereby 'will be of the proper shape for the blanks. It will of course be distinctly understood in the beginning that the particular configuration of the die may be varied for plowshares of different kinds, but in each instance the substantial and controlling character of the die will be the same to fulfil the object of our invention. It is essential to have a die which will operate together with a knife to form two blanks at each operation of the machine, the die itself being constructed to cut the metal 0 in such a way that it will have the proper curves and angles required of a blank for a plowshare. By this method of operation each share-blank will be exactly the same in shape as every other share-blank cut by the same 5 die and knife, which is practically impossible with other methods.

The primary object, therefore, of our invention is to simplify the manufacture of blanks for plowshares by reducing the num- 40 ber of operations necessary for the production of each blank.

Another object of the invention is to produce more than one complete blank by one operation of the dies embodying our improvements and to make all blanks alike in size and shape.

A further object of the invention is to pro-. vide a die which can be operated to sever a Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the shape of two blanks and their relative position to each other immediately after the die has operated upon the bar of metal out of which it is made. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the die. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the die-block or matrix. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the-die, showing its arrangement in the die-head. Fig. 5 is an end view of the die and the die-head. Fig. 6 is a top plan View showing the die in section and its arrangement with relation to the bar of metal when operating thereon. Fig. 7 is a front View of .a machine in which our dies may be used. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of said machine.

In the drawings like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all of the figures, and referring thereto and particularly to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, A designates a form of die which we have found especially useful in this kind of work and particularly in shaping the blanks, as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 2 and elsewhere we have shown a form of die which is of especial value in practicing our invention, the essential characteristic of said die being the configuration of its sides, which are tapered from the center of the die to the ends in curved lines, so that each side of the die will be curved. The die is adapted to operate in a socket B in the dieblock or matrix C, the socket corresponding substantially in outline to the shape of the die, so that the piece of metal which is cut out of the bar D, Fig. 6, by the die will be to all intents and purposes of the same shape as the die itself.

It is necessary in manufacturing blanks for all kinds of plowshares, so far as we are at present advised, to provide curved ends d, as sh own in Fig. 1, and in perhaps the greater number of cases the extreme tapered ends of the blanks should be cut off, as at a, for which purpose shoulders or are provided at "each end of the die and on opposite sides thereof, the shoulders being of the proper size and shape to out the points corresponding to the size of the shoulders and make the ends of the blanks of the proper shape, giving to the die the shape of the letter Z substantially. The dimensions and locations of these shoulders may be varied in accordance with the particular form of blank it is desired to make; but the sides of the die are curved, so as to produce the desired curved edges 61 on the blanks.

The die is thicker at its center than at its ends, the lower face of said die, which constitutes the cutting-face E thereof, being preferably angular and sloping from the center of the die to its ends, so that when the die is operated it will engage the bar of metal first at its center and, descending, cut the metal with a shearing action to punch out therefrom a piece corresponding substantially to the shape of the die itself.

It is obvious that this die may be used in a number of different machines; but to show its general arrangement and its manner of operation we have illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8 just so much of a simple machine as will be necessary for a thorough understanding of our invention. Referring to these figures, power is communicated to the shaft I in a suitable manner, and said shaft is provided with eccentrics J, which operate the arms K, carrying the cross-piece L, which is guided in its vertical movements in the guides M. lhe die is supported in a die-head F, Figs. 4 and 5, which is provided with a tenon to fit in a mortise in the face of the cross-piece,whereby said die-head can be adjusted laterally, as desired. The die-head is also provided with a mortise f in its lower face to receive the blocks f, which hold the die rigidly in place in the head, dowel-pins G being arranged in the openings in the blocks f and the die A to maintain the samein their proper relative positions, and the blocks are held in place in the die-head by means of bolts g.

Shearing-knives N are secured in the heads 0, which are adjustably supported, respectively, in the cross-piece L and the bed P of the machine, these knives and their manner of securing them in place being of a simple character and well known in this and other arts.

The die is arranged to operate in a diagonal position with relation to the direction of the bar of metal D, and the knives are also arranged to cut the bar diagonally, the inclination of the die and knives with relation to each other being governed, primarily, by the character of the blank to be formed. In this arrangement the outer curved edges g on the shoulders at will extend beyond the bar of metal, as shown in Fig. 6, and therefore the particular character of these edges is not material. The line of severance made by the die will be diagonal across the bar of metal, and the extreme pointed ends of the two blanks formed, which ends would correspond to the shape of the shoulders a, are cut off in the manner shown at a at Fig. 1. At the same time that the die descends upon the bar of metal the knives cut the bar at H, so that two complete blanks are formed simultaneously, their relation to each other being shown in Fig. l. The bar of metal is then arranged in the machine and the operation repeated, two complete blanks being formed at each stroke of the die and knives. Any number of dies and knives may be arranged to operate in the machine without departing from the spirit of our invention, it being simply necessary, for the purpose of fully explaining the invention, to describe and illustrate one die and one pair of shearing-knives.

When the die comes in contact with the metal bar, its widest and thickest portion at the center first engages the bar, and then as the die continues its movement the other parts of the cutting-face of the die engage the metal bar and out the same with a shearing action. By the use of a die having an a11- gular cutting-face We are able to perform the operation in a much simpler and more expeditious manner, and it will be observed that the particular form of this angular cuttingface may vary. For example,the thickest portion of the die may be located at another point than the center, or there may be an angular face of any description which will answer the purpose of the invention.

\Ve are aware that many changes in the construction and configuration of the die may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and we therefore reserve the right to make all such changes as fall within the scope of our invention and use the same in connection with any machine adapted for the purpose.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A die for making plowshare-blanks havin g a double cutting edge and curved sides and provided with angular shoulders, the outer part of said shoulders being joined to the extreme ends of the body of the die on the median line thereof, substantially as described.

2. A die for making plowshare-blanks having a double cutting edge and curved sides,the die being wider at its center than at its ends and provided with a shoulder at each end and on opposite sides of the body of the die, each of said shoulders being connected with the other side at the extreme ends of the die and on the median line thereof, substantially as the die to the base of the shoulder, substandeseribed. tially as described.

3. A die for making pgowshare-blanks hav- HENRY G. SAWYER. ing a double cutting edge, shoulders 0n oppo- EDWARD A. HENDRICKS. 5 site sides of 'said die adjacent to the ends Witnesses:

thereof, the body of the die having curved DUNCAN LIVINGSTON, sides which extend from the extreme end of I W. A. DUNTON. 

